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Online tool aims to connect LNG to B.C. businesses

Pre-registration has opened for LNG-Buy BC, an online tool officials hope will help bridge the gap between LNG proponents and local B.C. businesses as the industry grows.

“I think anything that encourages B.C. businesses to get involved in a new industry with new players is a good thing,” said Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association. “They have to learn about us and we have to learn about them.”

According to the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour, the tool will also help support the promotion and marketing of B.C. companies to global businesses for both export opportunities and for foreign direct investment projects.

“Businesses that pre-register for the LNG-Buy BC tool will be well positioned to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities coming from the LNG sector,” said minister of jobs, tourism and skills training Shirley Bond. “We expect that construction contractors and subcontractors should be some of the biggest users of the tool as international LNG companies will need their B.C. expertise to build their projects.”

Those that register get automatic opportunity matching, commercial opportunity information, project tracking and more. According to the Ministry, the goal is to make it as easy as possible for LNG proponents unfamiliar with the B.C. market to plug into local businesses.

There are 15 LNG project proposals on the table, nine of which already have approved export licences from Canada’s National Energy Board.

Ministry figures show that if five LNG facilities move forward, the cumulative gross domestic product benefit to the province could total $1 trillion over the next 30 years.